Forget Resident Evil 4, Zelda, Metroid Prime, or anything else. THIS IMO is the reason to buy a GameCube, to play Tales Of Symphonia. I absolutely loved this game from start to finish. Combining the best features of two other RPGs I loved on the Sega Dreamcast (Skies Of Arcadia and Grandia II) creates one exciting 50 hour quest.
The story seems pretty clichéd at first. The land of Sylvarant is in decline due to evil and the end is nigh. To prevent this, every set number of years a person is dubbed "The Chosen" and is sent through a mission to transform into an Angel to destroy the evil. This time it is Collette Brunel's chance; a klutzy but kind 16 year-old. Lloyd Irving, a friend of hers who lost his mother due to the evil Te'ethialians, has chosen to be her protector and he also has other friends with him on the journey. There is also Kratos, a mysterious being with immense power that also was originally going to be Collette's protector but has allowed Lloyd and company to come along. In the middle of the game, when they reach the final destination we get a big, big plot twist...
I loved this game not for it's graphics, music, or sound but for the gameplay. This isn't a random battle game like Final Fantasy. Here, you will see your opponents walking around and you choose to fight them. When you do, you control a character and wail away at the enemies in real-time. You can issue commands to your 3 AI partners and give them a style of battle. The skirmishes are so much fun to play through. Also, the story might be a bit typical but the experienced voice actors provided do a bang-up job of rising over the script.
This is, IMO, the best RPG I've played this generation and I long for the next games in Namco's Tales series. Well worth picking up.
The story seems pretty clichéd at first. The land of Sylvarant is in decline due to evil and the end is nigh. To prevent this, every set number of years a person is dubbed "The Chosen" and is sent through a mission to transform into an Angel to destroy the evil. This time it is Collette Brunel's chance; a klutzy but kind 16 year-old. Lloyd Irving, a friend of hers who lost his mother due to the evil Te'ethialians, has chosen to be her protector and he also has other friends with him on the journey. There is also Kratos, a mysterious being with immense power that also was originally going to be Collette's protector but has allowed Lloyd and company to come along. In the middle of the game, when they reach the final destination we get a big, big plot twist...
I loved this game not for it's graphics, music, or sound but for the gameplay. This isn't a random battle game like Final Fantasy. Here, you will see your opponents walking around and you choose to fight them. When you do, you control a character and wail away at the enemies in real-time. You can issue commands to your 3 AI partners and give them a style of battle. The skirmishes are so much fun to play through. Also, the story might be a bit typical but the experienced voice actors provided do a bang-up job of rising over the script.
This is, IMO, the best RPG I've played this generation and I long for the next games in Namco's Tales series. Well worth picking up.
